Ukiah Police Chief Dewey lobbies council for more officers

The Ukiah City Council Tuesday said it approved of Ukiah Police Chief Chris Dewey's plan to add two officers and two new positions to his department, but not before Vice-Mayor Phil Baldwin made sure he needed them.

"If you've seen a reduction in calls for service, are solving crimes at a better rate, and achieving everything in your strategic plan, why do we need more officers?" asked Baldwin, who said that he was "playing devil's advocate."

"Our officers have done a tremendous job, and our strategic plan has worked very well, but we still need more police officers," said Dewey, explaining that while his officers are focused on reducing and solving crimes against people such as assaults, rapes and homicides, other important "quality of life" issues such as traffic and code enforcement are not being addressed.

"We now have three officers per shift," Dewey said. "What I'd really like to do, especially during our most critical time between 2 p.m. and 2 a.m., is add another officer. And to do that I need two officers, one for each half of the week."

Dewey said he has 23 sworn officers, but two are now out with "significant injuries," and three are actively looking for other jobs.

"Within a month, there is a great likelihood we could lose three more officers to other departments," he said, explaining that his officers are not only overworked, but they are encountering an increasing amount of violence in their jobs, as last year "there were eight significant attacks on our officers, all from transients or mental health patients."

"We are really struggling with crisis intervention for mental health issues," he continued, describing it as a "significant impact" to his department. "Crisis intervention is done in our (hospital) emergency rooms, which were never designed to help someone in a crisis."

Another significant impact is the large population of transients that call Ukiah their temporary home, especially during the marijuana trimming season, Dewey said.

"In the winter months, 4,000 to 5,000 people a month apply for social services," he said. "During the marijuana season of July through October, 7,000 people a month apply," pointing out that much of the increase can be attributed to people who come to Ukiah seeking work in the marijuana industry.

"This is a deep concern to any business or property owner on Airport Park Boulevard," he said, referring to the violence, panhandling, outdoor defecating and urinating and other issues that tend to increase along with the population of transients.

"We are the capital of marijuana for the state of California, if not for the entire country," he said. "The only reason why someone on probation from Monterey County would come to our Safeway in the middle of the day with a loaded .45 is because of marijuana."

To help pay for two more officers, at least for the first two years, Dewey said he would receive $125,000 in funding from the Community Corrections Committee, which voted that the UPD should receive the money because it was most affected by a recent change to moved many state parolees to county probation.

"Never before have we gotten this amount of funding, so I'm excited," he said.

Council member Mari Rodin said that a lot of community members were probably wondering why, since the passage of Measure S was supposed to fund Public Safety, there were less officers since the its passage.

City Manager Jane Chambers said "sales tax (revenue) has dropped precipitously since 2008," which was affecting the amount of money collected for the city. "It is coming back, but it is coming back slowly."

Dewey said he also wanted to create a Community Service Officer (CSO) position to deal with evidence and coordinate volunteers by combining two part-time positions.

"Years ago at the UPD, you used to be greeted by a real person," Dewey said, describing the current system of greeting people with a confusing phone system as "one of the worst things we do. I'd really like to go back to having a real person (at the front desk), and that position could be completely staffed by volunteers."

Funding for that position would come from the UPD's "existing Supplemental Law Enforcement Service Fund grants."

The fourth position Dewey wants to add is a CSO position that will deal with code enforcement, which he said his department does not have the time and staffing to address.

Dewey presented his plan to the council and asked for their direction, explaining that he would ask for formal approval when it came time to prepare the 2013-14 budget.

"I support the plan as presented," said Council member Mary Anne Landis, adding that she appreciated Dewey's "creativity" at finding sources of money other than the city's General Fund.

Council member Mari Rodin and Mayor Doug Crane said they also supported the plan, as did Baldwin, who added that he wanted "more traffic enforcement," and asked if it was "possible for officers not to use their cell phones while driving?"

"I ask them not to use their cell phones (while driving), and I agree with you," Dewey said, adding that with coming technology changes, "five years from now it won't be an issue."

Justine Frederiksen can be reached at udjjf@ukiahdj.com, on Twitter @JustFrederiksen or at 468-3521.